How to Know When You're Ready to Buy a Luxury Watch

Hey {{first_name|Reader}}.

Most people ask the wrong question. They ask, "Can I afford this watch?" when they should be asking, "Should I buy this watch?"

Those are two very different questions.

You can afford a lot of things that would be terrible financial decisions. You can technically afford to finance a $10,000 watch over 24 months. You can technically afford to put it on a credit card and pay it off over time. You can technically afford to drain your savings account and buy it today.

But should you? Probably not.

I've been collecting watches for years. I've bought watches I regret. I've bought watches at the wrong time for the wrong reasons. And I've learned that being ready to buy a luxury watch has almost nothing to do with whether you can technically afford it.

It has everything to do with whether you have your life together.

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Before you even think about buying a luxury watch, you need to have these three things in place:

This might be old-fashioned, but I don't care. You need six months of living expenses sitting in a savings account. Not invested. Not in stocks. Cash. Accessible. Safe.

If you lose your job tomorrow, can you pay your bills for six months without panic? If the answer is no, you're not ready for a luxury watch.

No student loans. No car payments. No credit card balances. No personal loans.

If you owe someone money, pay them back first. Then think about watches.

A mortgage is fine. That's an asset. Everything else is a liability. Clear the liabilities before you start buying luxury goods.

If you're even thinking about financing a watch, you're not ready.

I don't care if it's 0% interest. I don't care if the payments are "only" $200/month. I don't care if the dealer is offering you a deal. If you can't pay cash for it today, you can't afford it.

Financing a depreciating luxury good is one of the dumbest financial decisions you can make. Don't do it.

Money is only half of it. The other half is why you want the watch in the first place.

Be honest. Are you buying this watch because you love it, or because you want people to notice it on your wrist?

If you're buying it to show off, you're buying it for the wrong reason. Luxury watches are personal. They should mean something to you beyond just status.

If you're thinking about resale value before you even buy it, you're not ready.

Watches aren't investments. Some hold value. Some appreciate. Most don't. If you're buying a watch with the intention to sell it later, you're speculating, not collecting.

Buy it because you want to wear it. Not because you think it'll be worth more in five years.

This is my rule. Unpopular, maybe. But it works.

If you just discovered a watch last week and you're already pulling the trigger, that's impulse. If you've been thinking about it for a year—researching it, trying it on, comparing alternatives, coming back to it again and again—that's intentional.

A year filters out the hype. A year filters out FOMO. A year proves you actually want it, not just that you saw it on Instagram and felt a spark.

Even if you have the money and the right reasons, you still need to ask: will you actually wear this?

Do you work in an office where a luxury watch makes sense? Or do you work with your hands where it'll get destroyed?

Do you go to events where you'd wear a dress watch? Or is your life mostly casual and a sport watch makes more sense?

Are you active? Do you need water resistance? A rotating bezel? A GMT hand?

Don't buy a watch that doesn't fit your actual life. Buy the watch you'll wear, not the watch you wish you had a reason to wear.

This is the real question.

Are you in shape? Are you taking care of yourself? Are you building something? Are you disciplined?

A luxury watch doesn't make you successful. It's a reward for already being successful. If your life is a mess, a watch won't fix it.

Get your life together first. Then buy the watch.

Here are the signs that you should wait:

1. You owe other people money.
Pay them back first. Then think about watches.

2. You don't have a steady job.
If your income is unstable, your priority should be building stability. Not buying luxury goods.

3. You're reckless with the money you have.
If you blow money on impulse purchases, subscriptions you don't use, or things you forget about, you're not ready for a luxury watch. Fix your spending habits first.

4. You're asking permission.
If you're asking random people on the internet, "Should I buy this?"—you already know the answer. You're not ready. When you're ready, you won't need to ask.

5. You can't answer "Why this watch?"
If you can't articulate why you want this specific watch, you're just chasing something shiny. Wait until you have a real reason.

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For me, it took nine years.

Nine years of losing weight. Getting in shape. Building self-confidence. Getting my life together. Becoming the kind of person who could own a luxury watch without it feeling like a costume.

I didn't buy my first serious watch until recently. Not because I couldn't afford it before. But because I wasn't ready before.

A watch is a physical representation of where you are in life. When I look at my wrist now, I see the work I put in to get here. That's what makes it worth it.

If I'd bought it five years ago, it would've just been a thing I owned. Now it's a thing I earned.

Yes. And you'll know when it is.

It's not about hitting a specific net worth number. It's not about a certain age. It's not about waiting for a promotion or a bonus.

It's about the moment when you look at your life and think, "I have my life together. I'm re”

When your finances are stable. When your reasons are clear. When the watch fits your life. When you've wanted it long enough to know it's not just impulse.

That's when you're ready.

And if you're reading this and thinking, "I'm not sure if I'm there yet"—you're not. But you will be.

Don't buy a luxury watch to feel successful. Buy it because you already are.

Don't buy it to impress people. Buy it because it means something to you.

Don't finance it. Don't rush it. Don't buy it before you're ready.

Wait. Save. Get your life together. And when the time is right, you'll know.

Poll: What's holding you back from buying the watch you want? Is it money, timing, or something else? Hit reply and tell me.

Watches count time. Your choices make the time count.

—Ian